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June 3, 2011

G57: Red Sox 8, Athletics 6

Clay Buchholz (4.2-8-6-2-5, 99) allowed four runs on five hits in the top of the first inning and his teammates shrugged it off, erasing Oakland's lead and taking the lead after three innings.

After the A's rallied to go ahead 6-5, Carl Crawford and Jarrod Saltalamacchia knocked in the late-inning runs that gave Boston a win and snapped the team's four-game losing streak.

In the bottom of the first, Jacoby Ellsbury singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on Adrian Gonzalez's grounder to second. Kevin Youkilis doubled and David Ortiz singled him home.

Mike Cameron reached on a two-base throwing error in the second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on Ellsbury's sac fly. With one out in the third, Youkilis walked and scored the tying run on Ortiz's double off the Wall in left. Then Flo scored the go-ahead run when Jed Lowrie singled to center.

Trailing 6-5 with one out in the seventh, Gonzalez doubled off Joey Devine, Youkilis was hit by a pitch, and Ortiz walked. With two outs, Brian Fuentes came in from the pen and gave up a full-count single to Crawford that gave Boston a 7-6 lead. Salty contributed some insurance by leading off the eighth with a dong over the Red Sox pen in right center.

Tommy Hottovy (#68) made his major league debut in the top of the sixth. Coco Crisp was on first with two outs. After a throw to first, Crisp stole second on ball one to David DeJesus. DeJesus then looked at a strike before grounding out to Pedroia to end the inning.

Bobby Jenks allowed a leadoff double in the seventh. After a strikeout, he balked the runner to third and issued a walked before getting an inning-ending double play. Daniel Bard pitched the eighth, giving up only a two-out single. Jonathan Papelbon made quick work of the A's in the ninth (F9, K, P6). After Buchholz left, five relievers put up a 4.1-3-0-1-2 line.

Gonzalez had three hits, Youkilis was on base four times and scored three runs, and Ortiz singled, doubled and walked. ... On the minus side, Dustin Pedroia was 0-for-5 and Ellsbury fouled out to the left side of the infield three times.

Adrian should have either gone for two or held that runner at third. Obviously you have to get at least one out, but I think you can look the guy back to third while inching toward first, then if he bolts, throw home. At that point, you're still getting the same amount of outs, but you're preventing the run.

1914: The defending world champion, first-place Athletics come into Fenway and sweep a double dip, 10-1 and 7-5. They pounded out 32 or 33 hits, depending on which paper you read. Red Sox catcher Pinch Thomas was hit in the mouth by a ball while yawning and had to leave game one.

6/3/1925: The last-place Sox beat the first-place A's at Fenway, 4-2, despite being outhit 9-4. Boston's Tex Vache doubled, tripled, and was hit by a pitch. Despite hitting .313 in 110 games in 1925, it was Vache's only season in the bigs.

June 3rd, 1955: Looking for their first-ever win in the city of Kansas City, the Red Sox fall short, losing 4-3 to the KC Athletics. Bobby Shantz started for the A's, and his brother Wilmer hit a 2-run dong to break a 2-2 tie in the 7th.